Six months ago, a horrendous fire broke out at Tioga Downs Raceway and Casino in New York’s Southern Tier. Thirty standardbred horses perished in the barn fire. It was a senseless, horrifying tragedy and a devastating loss of equine life.
In January, a man named Boyd Fenton pled guilty to the crime. His counts – arson, assault, and interference with injury to domestic animals.
Last Friday, a judge sentenced Boyd Fenton to a maximum of 15 years in jail for the barn fire; Fenton must serve a minimum of 7 years behind bars.
Under New York State law, the sentences – 30 counts of interference with injury to domestic animals – must run simultaneously, since the animals perished in the same barn fire that Fenton set. The deaths are listed as Class E felonies, which carry the maximum jail sentence of 15 years.
Forgive me. I’m having a really, really hard time with this.
Because I can’t imagine a world where some jackass goes into a barn and sets it on fire. For what? Kicks and thrills?
And I can’t imagine a world where over two dozen racehorses had to die because this asshole, in his sick, twisted, diseased mind, thought burning a barn down made sense to him.
Trust me. There are horse trainers and owners right now that wake up every morning and relive the loss of their beloved steeds. Every single morning. And no amount of jail time will bring those horses back.
So, yeah. Justice came. This shithead is going to jail. Where he fucking belongs.
And I seriously hope that for every single day of his life – both in jail and if he ever gets released in his lifetime – that he knows how we feel about his cowardly, sinister, reprehensible actions.
He’s not worth my time. And I’m sorry that I even had to mention his filthy name in this blog post.
Go to hell, Boyd Fenton. And stay the fuck there.
Chuck The Writer 
15 years? That’s it? In my opinion, he needs to be in jail for far longer for what he did, as his actions were clearly intentional and had devastating consequences.
LikeLike